The number of households in Scotland has tripled to 370,000 since 1999, according to the most recent Scottish Household Survey.

As a result of this growth, new private rented sector (PRS) legislation has been introduced, which provides for local councils to apply to the Scottish Government to designate Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ) within their Local Authority area.

Applications must be data-led, including market evidence that rent increases to tenants under the new Private Residential Tenancies are excessive. Currently, there is no relevant data on rent rises, which is why Citylets and Wallet.Services have teamed up create a solution in the form of the first-ever blockchain database.

Wallet.Services have utilised its award-winning SICCAR product, developed in conjunction with the Scottish Government, to implement the solution. Scottish rent changes will be stored cryptographically allowing a higher degree of security and ensure that the data cannot be corrupted once entered from source by letting agents across Scotland.

Blockchain Database Will Help Build Trust

Rab Campbell, chairman of Wallet.Services, said: “We are delighted to be working with such a progressive company as Citylets. Thomas understands that a new paradigm of trust is emerging in our digital world. This project addresses a data transparency issue that has been thrown up by legislation passed in the Scottish Parliament. It improves trust and data quality on a matter that affects a significant minority of people in Scotland and that spans the public and private sectors.”

Citylets founder Thomas Ashdown said: “The key here is trust. We are a private company looking to create a ledger of the rent changes experienced by the tenants of Scotland that can be utilised by all stakeholders within the private and public sectors. Ultimately, we anticipate this will become a resource for local councils who have new powers to apply for rent pressure zones but lack the data to underpin applications to the Scottish Government. Blockchain tech was chosen to put the dataset beyond reproach. It is a highly secure, immutable technology.”

Mike Campbell, director of the Council of Letting Agents, said: “I welcome this exciting and important development, which addresses the commonly identified problem around the lack of comprehensive and good data on rents in the PRS in Scotland. With the prospect of RPZs on the horizon and the ongoing debate around affordability and role the PRS plays in the housing system as a whole, it’s more important than ever that this happens on an informed and agreed basis.”